You Can't Kill a Ghost
by Elemental Serenity
Summary: Set during MW2. What if Roach and Ghost made it out alive during Loose Ends? Who would get the honor of killing Shepherd? No longer a two-shot.
1. Backstabber

**Okay, so this is my first Modern Warfare 2 story (errr, my first COD story at all...), so go easy on me. I know there are HUGE plot-holes the size of Canada, but I had to do SOMETHING...Watching Roach and Ghost get murdered was just too much xD **

**And I know this is short. Next chapter to come soon, hopefully.**

**No flames please! Constructive criticism is loved.**

_

* * *

Just a little bit farther..._

Roach weighed strongly on Ghost's shoulder as he helped drag the younger man to safety, just feet away in Shepherd's awaiting heli. As the back hatch opened, Ghost nearly sighed in relief as Shepherd came out to meet them. He could tell Roach, who was still breathing heavily in pain, began to relax in awaiting relief as well.

"Do you have the DSM?" Shepherd shouted over the roar of the engines.

"We got it, sir!" Ghost yelled back, ready to get his teammate a safe distance from the battle. Roach reached out a hand for support from Shepherd.

"Good," Shepherd commented, looking only at Roach. "That's one less loose end."

His eyes suddenly turned hardened and angry, and Ghost realized a moment too late that he'd pulled a gun with his right hand.

Before he could react, a shot rang out and Roach's weight was suddenly gone from his shoulders.

Horror ran through Ghost, and as his arms wildly flew out to catch him, Ghost couldn't stop myself from crying out, "No!" Roach, his teammate, was just gunned down by their own general. Quicker than the horror had, rage flew through his veins. He looked to Sheppard, ready to fire, though he beat him to it.

The last thing Ghost remembered was a blinding pain in his chest, then nothing.

* * *

"Nice driving, Soap," Price sighed dryly as he crawled out of the jeep, watching his footing as the plane took off.

"Whatever," Soap grumbled. He was too tired at the moment to care about his captain's remark, or much at all for that matter. Before he let his mind wander back to his teammates, he quickly got out of the jeep and helped Price get Rook out of his seat.

"I got him," Price said, his voice more gentle than before. Soap knew that the captain understood his loss, having lost his team before. "Rest up, Soap. You need it."

Soap tried to protest, but by the time Price had Rook fully supported and had given him a sharp look, he knew there was no use. He sighed, and worked his way back into the back seat of the jeep, curling up as he tried to sleep. Of course, he failed.

How could Shepherd have done this? Yes, Soap had witnessed plenty of death and murder in his lifetime, some by his hand and others by enemies. But this? He'd never seen such awful treachery. They'd fought for days, spent hours learning to protect themselves in new situations while protecting the people who'd become brothers to them. Brothers…that's what they were. And now they were gone. And for what? So Shepherd could cover his tracks as he continued the slaughter of thousands?

Fuck that. Not on his watch.

Soap could only imagine the look on Ghost and Roach's faces as they were gunned down by the man that they'd followed, that they'd trusted. The horror, the pain…the betrayal. Maybe they didn't see who'd done it. Maybe they were spared that realization. If only…

If only they'd warned them just a little sooner…

As the rage began to build inside of him, Soap tried to calm himself by thinking of better times. Unfortunately, his mind only thought of his fallen comrades.

_---_

_As the hot Iraqi sun beat down through the break room windows, Soap stretched lazily in his chair, trying to find some music on the rickety old radio on the table. Joseph sat at the small table on the other side of the room writing letters to his family, while Roach sprawled lazily across the couch, seemingly asleep._

_Trying to fight the urge to fall asleep himself, Soap stood and made his way over to the fridge, drinking greedily from his cooled water bottle. Swallowing, he scowled at the My Little Pony sticker stuck to the metal near the cap. Ozone's touch. Where the fuck did Ozone get a My Little Pony sticker anyway?_

"_Shut up, dammit!" he suddenly heard Archer growl from the doorway. Curious, Soap closed the refrigerator door and made his way over to where Archer, Ghost, Ozone, and Rook were huddled by the doorway, formed in a circle. _

"_What the hell are you – "_

_He was cut off by the sound of a lighter clicking, and the sudden rushing sound of a flare. _

_Before he could ask again, the four turned around, while Archer, Ozone and Rook worked their way excitedly over towards the sleeping roach, a makeshift cake in hand with a flare sitting on top. Ghost followed behind, though he looked more amused than excited, like the others. _

_Archer took the lead, making it to Roach first and waking him via chokehold, complete with roughly tousling the younger man's hair. _

"_What the – " Roach exclaimed sleepily, unsure of even who was harassing him at the moment._

_Releasing Roach from his hold, Archer stood up with his cake-bearing comrades. "Happy birthday, mate!" Rook said happily._

_Roach blinked a couple of times, squinting as he tried to wake up. He stared at the cake, trying to understand what they were saying. When he finally woke up enough, he started to laugh. "How the hell am I supposed to blow that out?"_

_Soap laughed too. "And where the fuck did you get a cake out here?"_

_---_

Had that really only been 3 months ago? Seemed so longer. Seemed like a lifetime.

Soap had known Ghost for well over a year, but he'd only met Roach a few months back. When he'd first met the kid, he'd already expected he'd be great. And sure enough, the kid started making his way up the ranks within the month.

His first mission with Roach alone was in Kazakhstan. God, how could that possibly have been just days ago? Even in those few days, he'd felt closer to Roach than he had in the months they'd been off-duty. Roach had become like his little brother, like he'd felt he was with Price when the first war began.

In Kazakhstan, he'd caught Roach as he slipped from the ice, and had hardly forgiven himself for not catching him in Rio de Janeiro. And now, he'd let him down again. He'd let him fall, and for the final time.

"Soap, we're here."

When had he fallen asleep? Stretching, he pushed the thought of teammates to the back of his mind as he followed Price to the back of the plane.

* * *

_God-DAMNIT that hurt._

As Ghost began to regain consciousness, the first thing he became aware of was the stinging pain in his chest. Luckily the thick armor had held well enough, and the blood packet – a trick he'd learned from an old friend – had done the job. But getting shot point-blank fucking hurt, no matter how much padding and whatever else you have in between.

The second thing he became aware of was the smell of gasoline.


	2. Morning, Sunshine!

**Hey guys! Long time no see! I've decided that this story won't be a two-shot after all, and it'll be a bit longer than what I'd first expected :) This chapter is suuuuper short, and I'll probably end up revising/replacing it later. It was just a quick draft kinda thing that I decided to give you guys for being so patient! :D**

**Hold tight, a longer version will be on its way in a day or two!**

**Oh, and for those of you who have asked/don't know, I am in fact a girl - that's right, a girl gamer :) Bow down to my awesomeness. **

**Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are awesome. **

* * *

"_You have a girl back home, Roach?"_

_Roach gave a hollow chuckle, but neither his tone nor his face showed any signs of humor. "You could say that I guess." He took another swig of the beer bottle in his hand – a gift from Ozone, who got a "care package" from home. _

"_You wanna get married when you get home?" Ghost pressed on, drinking from his own bottle. He knew something was wrong with his "little brother", and was determined to find out what. He'd figured taking him out by the lake would help him relax; the base was currently filled with drinking, partying soldiers anyway._

"_Want to and going to are two different things."_

_Ghost frowned. "She broke it off?" _

_Roach sighed, taking another swig before setting down the bottle. "No. She's six feet under." _

_Ghost blinked at the sergeant. "Wow. Sorry to hear that, mate." _

_Roach gave a lopsided, grateful smile, looking over at his partner. He was glad to have Ghost looking over him, like the brother he never had. "It's alright. I was able to say goodbye at least. Cancer."_

_Ghost nodded. He was about to say something else, when his head began to throb terribly.._

_Looking around, he realized the scenery around him had changed dramatically. _

_Sitting in a chopper looking over MacTavish's shoulder, he could see Roach's still body laying on the concrete below the rooftops of the Favela. _Oh God…

"_Roach! Roach! Wake up!" MacTavish screamed, willing his teammate to get up. Was he even moving? Finally, they saw him groggily turn over, clutching his head._

_At the same time, Ghost spotted several figures heading straight towards his position._

"_Roach! We can see them from the chopper!" he told the young man frantically. He saw Roach's head look upwards towards the alleyway. "They're coming for you, dozens of 'em!" In the back of Ghost's mind, he heard someone beside him suggest they leave him behind._

_Fuck no._

_Ghost could hear Soap yell for Roach to get away, but the roar of the engines combined with his headache disoriented him. He closed his eyes. Was Roach dead?_

_No, he realized, Roach was leaning on his shoulder as they stumbled down the hill. _Get down to the chopper. Get him to safety.

"_Good. That's one less loose end," Ghost heard Shepherd growl. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew what was coming.  
_

"_No!" he screamed out, watching as his brother – once again – fell._

_But this time, there was no bullet for him. _

_Ghost stared down at Roach, his comrade's eyes wild with pain and hurt._

"_Y-You…You were with him?" Roach gasped out, a trickle of blood dripping past his lips. "You…You carried me, r-right to him…"_

"_No…No! I-I didn't know!" Ghost spluttered out, full of pain. He wanted to reach out to Roach, but his body wouldn't obey. He could feel himself trembling with suppressed sobs._

"_Y-You…betrayed me. I thought…I thought you were…my brother," Roach gasped out, his breaths getting shorter and shorter. His eyes were full of accusation now. _

"_No, Roach! Please!" Ghost screamed out, still unable to reach the younger man. Tears fell freely from his face as he watched the sergeant's eyes finally slide closed, and his chest falling one last time._

"_No! ROACH!"_

* * *

Bolting upright, Ghost gave a loud gasp as his torso flared up in pain. He grasped his chest tightly as he tried to regain his breath, and calm the ache around his ribcage.

Ghost reached up to his face, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Holy shit, was he crying?

Where was he? Where was Roach? Oh God, he wasn't…

As his mind flew wildly from one thought to the other, he slowly came upon the realization that he was in a dimly lit room, sitting on a small cot.

More precisely, he was sitting in a dimly lit room in Makarov's safehouse.

Ghost tensed, immediately taking in his surroundings. One small window, but it looked to be nearing dusk, and he seemed to be on the second floor. Three cots, including his own. No other persons visible. No weapons, save for a small handgun beneath the pillow of another cot. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Ghost stood and quickly and silently and made his way over to the cot, grabbing the gun.

His hands shook with exhaustion, but he knew he needed to get out. He made his way over to one of the two doors along the wall, and readied himself for whatever lay behind it. He steadied his aim, took a breath, and gently opened the door, immediately pointing his weapon inside.

A bathroom.

He sighed. Well, at least he wouldn't have to piss himself.

He quietly made his way over to the next door, mentally hitting himself for not having seen the light peeking out from beneath it.

He readied himself once more. As he pushed himself up against the wood, he could hear voices. _Well, here goes nothing._

* * *

"I'll wait for you at the exfil point. Three hours."

Price shifted slightly underneath his cover. "Don't bother, this was a one-way flight, mate."

Nikolai sighed. "Then good luck, my friend."

Once the sand had cleared away enough, Price shouldered off his cover, signaling Soap to follow. Together, the two made their way over the ridge.

"Hold up. Enemy patrol."

Soap took aim. After what these men – especially Shepherd – had done, he was going to enjoy this.

* * *

Ghost stood still for a moment, trying to listen to what direction the voices would be coming from. When he'd decided they were on his right, he began to open the door, first slowly, then once he had an eye on his targets, he burst out and pointed his weapon at the pair.

"Get on the ground!" Ghost screamed.

Both men visibly jumped, one flipping over the back of the couch yelling, "Holy shit!".

"Ghost? Whoa, calm down!" the other man yelped.

Ghost stopped. "Archer? Toad?"

"What the fuck, man?" Toad whined, picking himself up onto the cushions of the couch he'd so ungracefully flailed over.

Ghost, still groggy, lowered his weapon and shook his head. "What are you two - ?"

"We saved your ass, thanks," Archer laughed, snatching the gun from Ghost's hands. "Thanks for a hell of a scare."

"Speaking of which," Toad said loudly, apparently haven lost his bitterness, "You shouldn't be up, man."

"He's right, come on," Archer agreed, putting his hand on a very confused Ghost's shoulder and leading him over to what would later be known as "Toad's couch".

"What happened?" Ghost asked, still dazed. They must have found something for his pain, his head seemed foggier than usual. He tried to clear his thoughts, thinking through what he last remembered, and jolted when he realized there'd been a fire. "Roach? Where's –"

"He's alive, Ghost. Calm down."

While he visibly relaxed, Ghost still stayed tense. "Then where is he?"

Archer and Toad shared a quick glance, putting Ghost even more on edge. "He's…resting. He wasn't doing so well when we got him back here, but we've got him stable."

* * *

**What do you think? Like I said, I have to run and didn't have time to revise, so I'm okay with rough critisism. :) **

**Review, because you love me? :D**


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